Milhouser911
Jr. Member
- Reaction score
- 5
- Points
- 80
Good day gentlemen.
I recently submitted a request for clarification on a BGRS policy that states that in order to qualify for dual residency allowance, your house has to be listed at or below the appraised value.
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/policies-standards/relocation-directive/clarification-bulletin/2010-4-principal-residence-marketed.html
This policy was issued in 2010, and grieved in 2012. In 2013, the CDS's office issued the below response.
https://www.canada.ca/en/military-grievances-external-review/services/case-summaries/case-2011-131.html
The response was that this policy was issued without treasury board approval, and should be immediately removed from circulation, and that BGRS should go back and find everyone that was denied this benefit because of it and pay them.
I pointed out that the policy was still being used in 2017, and again in August when I released and was putting together my IPR claim and plan. Yesterday I received a response, by the CDBA MWO:
"ALCON,
Apologies for the delay in our response.
It has been confirmed that Clarification Bulletin 4 is still in effect and was approved by Treasury Board, who are the approving authority for the CFIRPD dated 19 April 2018. The statement “The principal residence listing price does not exceed the appraised value established in accordance with article 8.2.05 of the CFIRP” replaces the highlighted text below.
Section 1.4 – Definitions of the CFIRPD dated 19 April 2018 provides the following definition of “Actively Marketed”:
Principal residence – actively marketed A principal residence will be considered actively marketed for sale when:
• The principal residence is continuously for sale except for brief interruptions (e.g. to change brokers or listings) through a licensed real estate agent (realtor);
• The principal residence listing price is consistent with the appraisal paid by the CFIRP and the conditions of the market;
• The CF members are acting in good faith to dispose of the residence; and
• No reasonable offers have been refused. Résidence principale – Démarches de mise en vente active
"
I have...well, quite a few reservations about this response.
For starters, the CDS response to the grievance was an order to remove this policy "amendment bulletin" from circulation, which was never done. Instruction was also given to stop using "bulletins" to make changes, and instead amend the actual policy documents, which was never done. The CFIRP was updated in 2018, and this policy amendment was not included. The response claims that this bulletin was approved by the treasury board, but I believe that would require it to be re-issued in its approved form, and not simply approved while in use, after the fact. The wording of "Still in effect" bothers me, because it was ordered to be removed from use, which would theoretically require its re-issue to be effective.
In addition, here is the logical argument against this policy: Since the TB is paying out up to $30k losses on homes, this GUARANTEES that the TB will be paying more money for every single posting where houses aren't moving quickly. They'll pay both TDRA, and they'll pay for the loss against this house, which is absolutely guaranteed in todays housing market since you can't list above the appraised value. In addition, the appraisal frequently comes with a marketing strategy - It's a goal price for the sale. You can't leave yourself any room to haggle and save the TB some money.
Finally, when I listed my home, I was using the most current available information. I listed above the appraised value, and it's been on the market for almost 2 months. Now I can't claim TDRA for those two months. I did my research, requested clarification on this topic before the house ever hit the market, and followed the policy and information available to me.
How do I grieve this situation as a released member?
Thanks for reading,
Scott
I recently submitted a request for clarification on a BGRS policy that states that in order to qualify for dual residency allowance, your house has to be listed at or below the appraised value.
https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/corporate/policies-standards/relocation-directive/clarification-bulletin/2010-4-principal-residence-marketed.html
This policy was issued in 2010, and grieved in 2012. In 2013, the CDS's office issued the below response.
https://www.canada.ca/en/military-grievances-external-review/services/case-summaries/case-2011-131.html
The response was that this policy was issued without treasury board approval, and should be immediately removed from circulation, and that BGRS should go back and find everyone that was denied this benefit because of it and pay them.
I pointed out that the policy was still being used in 2017, and again in August when I released and was putting together my IPR claim and plan. Yesterday I received a response, by the CDBA MWO:
"ALCON,
Apologies for the delay in our response.
It has been confirmed that Clarification Bulletin 4 is still in effect and was approved by Treasury Board, who are the approving authority for the CFIRPD dated 19 April 2018. The statement “The principal residence listing price does not exceed the appraised value established in accordance with article 8.2.05 of the CFIRP” replaces the highlighted text below.
Section 1.4 – Definitions of the CFIRPD dated 19 April 2018 provides the following definition of “Actively Marketed”:
Principal residence – actively marketed A principal residence will be considered actively marketed for sale when:
• The principal residence is continuously for sale except for brief interruptions (e.g. to change brokers or listings) through a licensed real estate agent (realtor);
• The principal residence listing price is consistent with the appraisal paid by the CFIRP and the conditions of the market;
• The CF members are acting in good faith to dispose of the residence; and
• No reasonable offers have been refused. Résidence principale – Démarches de mise en vente active
"
I have...well, quite a few reservations about this response.
For starters, the CDS response to the grievance was an order to remove this policy "amendment bulletin" from circulation, which was never done. Instruction was also given to stop using "bulletins" to make changes, and instead amend the actual policy documents, which was never done. The CFIRP was updated in 2018, and this policy amendment was not included. The response claims that this bulletin was approved by the treasury board, but I believe that would require it to be re-issued in its approved form, and not simply approved while in use, after the fact. The wording of "Still in effect" bothers me, because it was ordered to be removed from use, which would theoretically require its re-issue to be effective.
In addition, here is the logical argument against this policy: Since the TB is paying out up to $30k losses on homes, this GUARANTEES that the TB will be paying more money for every single posting where houses aren't moving quickly. They'll pay both TDRA, and they'll pay for the loss against this house, which is absolutely guaranteed in todays housing market since you can't list above the appraised value. In addition, the appraisal frequently comes with a marketing strategy - It's a goal price for the sale. You can't leave yourself any room to haggle and save the TB some money.
Finally, when I listed my home, I was using the most current available information. I listed above the appraised value, and it's been on the market for almost 2 months. Now I can't claim TDRA for those two months. I did my research, requested clarification on this topic before the house ever hit the market, and followed the policy and information available to me.
How do I grieve this situation as a released member?
Thanks for reading,
Scott